


We're On Our Way To Cross The Line

by SereneCalamity



Series: There It Is At The Tips Of My Fingers... [2]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Background Relationships, Billy Hargrove Has a Crush on Steve Harrington, Billy Hargrove-centric, Billy is so soft for Steve, Bisexual Steve Harrington, Boys Kissing, Brief appearance of Neil, Concerts, Dom/sub Undertones, Explicit Sexual Content, F/F, Famous Billy Hargrove, Feels, First Dates, Gay Billy Hargrove, I now speak of the filming industry which I also know jackshit about, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Lesbian Robin Buckley, Literal Sleeping Together, M/M, Max is ready to take on the world, Neil Hargrove Being an Asshole, Oral Sex, Personal Assistant Steve Harrington, Praise Kink, Protective Steve Harrington, Robin Buckley & Steve Harrington Friendship, double dates, little mix - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-15
Updated: 2019-11-15
Packaged: 2021-01-30 22:49:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21435988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SereneCalamity/pseuds/SereneCalamity
Summary: Billy gets to spend two nights in a row next to Steve, even with all the craziness in between.
Relationships: Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington, Robin Buckley/Original Female Character(s)
Series: There It Is At The Tips Of My Fingers... [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1495109
Comments: 10
Kudos: 113





	We're On Our Way To Cross The Line

**Author's Note:**

> Okay! Next installment! Thank you so much for the love in the first update :)
> 
> A brief trigger warning, I think? I mentioned in the first installment that my character Jules Schafer is loosely based on character Jules Vaughn/her actress Hunter Schafer, and in my fic, I also envision her as a trans woman. There is a very brief discussion that touches on this in this chapter, although it's more implied than outright said, and Billy makes some uneducated comments. He doesn't mean anything nasty, he's just like a lot of people and uneducated. I just wanted to put that out there before going in, so if that's something that makes you uncomfortable, please avoid the conversation where Steve and Billy are talking about Robin and Jules for the first time.
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own the characters and the title comes from Solo Dance by Martin Jensen. This also isn't edited.

"Thanks, Billy," Maxine Mayfields voice sounded tired as she got into the back of the Mercedes G-Wagon, closing the door behind her and basically collapsing against the leather seats. Billy Hargrove turned around in the passenger seat of the wagon, raising his eyebrows at her and giving her a small, questioning smile and she made a tired face at him. Before either of them could say anything, though, the drivers seat door was opening and then Steve Harrington was getting inside, his hair all floppy and messy, even though it was clear he had tried to to straighten it by pulling his fingers through it. "And thanks again, Stevie." Billy liked how easily Max referred to Steve, and he couldn't stop the fond way his eyes drifted over to the brunette.

"It's no problem, Max," Steve smiled back at her over his shoulder before he turned the key in the ignition and turned on the lights. As he was checking that everyone in the car had their seat belts on, his eyes met Billy's for a moments, and the look they shared was soft, before Steve was pulling out of his park and onto the street. Billy twisted back in his seat, looking back at his sister as Steve moved his vehicle through the midnight traffic.

"Are you alright?" Billy asked quietly, and the corners of her lips tipped up in a small smile as Max nodded before she closed her eyes. "There's a blanket in the back," Billy told her. "If you reach behind you..." Max stretched backwards, arm flailing a little behind her before she obviously managed to grip the soft blue blanket that Steve always had in the back of his wagon, and then she was pulling it over the back of her seats and then over herself. She fell asleep almost immediately and Billy sighed as he settled himself back into the passenger seat. "Thanks...For coming," he murmured, not wanting to wake Max.

"Of course," Steve replied easily, and it felt nice, even though Billy knew that it was technically Steve's job to be there. The radio had been on when Steve had picked up Billy and on their way to the police station to get Max, but Steve had turned it off before he had gotten out of the car and headed inside. He didn't turn it back on now, since Max was asleep in the back, but the silence was comfortable.

They hadn't really spoken since the kiss on the beach last week.

It wasn't as though they had _purposefully_ avoided it, they just really hadn't had much of a chance. After they had kissed, they had gone back inside. Billy would have been more than okay with Steve coming to bed with him, but after they had gone into the house, Steve had walked him to the doorway of his bedroom and he had stopped. They hadn't kissed on the mouth again, but Steve had squeezed his hip and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek bone, and said that he would spend the night in the guest bedroom opposite his, which might as well just be called Steve's room. Steve had waited in the doorway as Billy had gone in, and there was something about the fact that he had looked away as Billy had undressed, down to his briefs, but then watched as Billy had slid into bed, as though just to make sure he had gotten in safe that made Billy feel warm all over. Billy had been a bit nervous when he had woken up in the morning and got out of bed, but he had been ready to talk to Steve, but when he'd come out, Carol Talmadge and Tommy Hill were in the lounge, talking loudly and throwing food back and forth between each other, clearly having let themselves in.

It had been a while since Billy had seen either of them, and Steve had woken up earlier and then left when he had seen them there. He'd text Billy later, but then they'd had to go to a photoshoot and then a work dinner. The next four days, Billy had pretty much spent all of his time with Matt Thorndon, his acting agent, and a couple of the people from the set management team of _Metamorphosis_. They were running through the character that Billy was going to be playing and the scenes he was going to be in and the other actors and actresses that he was going to work with. Steve was around for three of those days, but he was mainly in the background, because Billy needed to completely focus, and then for the last day, and yesterday, Steve had had one of his rare days off, since he would just be at the offices with Matt all day, with an acting coach. Even then, though, Steve never really had a proper full day off, Billy knew that he would still have been half-working, checking emails and taking calls that he should be ignoring because he never took time for himself.

They'd text a few times, and Billy had gotten a snapchat from Robin Buckley, Steve's roommate, of Steve in the kitchen in a pair of sweatpants and no shirt that had made his mouth fill with drool, but he really didn't want to have any type of conversation about their relationship over text message, or even just in a phone conversation.

He'd thought about what to say, and honestly shot down every single thing.

He wanted to know what Steve had to say.

And the longer that went by, the more _scared_ he was about what Steve had to say.

But he still wanted to hear it.

Then he had gotten a late night phone call from the downtown police station, asking if he was prepared to take a collect call from one Maxine Mayfield. This hadn't been the first, second, or even third time it had happened, so he hadn't been completely panicked, like the first couple of times, but he still couldn't help the nerves that rose in his stomach as Max came onto the phone and asked for him to come and bail her out. It wasn't as though _Billy_ could just walk into a police station and bail his sister out for _several_ reasons. One, it would make the press go crazy, and there would likely be all sorts of terrible photos of him go wild walking in and out of the precinct. There would be speculation about him being there and all kinds of stories that would come out, that would make his PR team furious. The second thing was that Max kept her relationship to Billy pretty quite. They were technically step-siblings and she had kept her fathers last name when her mother had married Billy's mother, and she liked her quiet life and didn't want any extra attention. Of course, it wasn't hard to find out, and it was published online and there were pictures of them out there, but if pictures were taken of her coming out of the police station with Billy in the middle of the night, that would bring a whole bunch of focus that she just wasn't prepared for.

So he had rung Steve, because that's who he had rung the other times.

And Steve had been around to pick him up within half an hour, looking a little sleep rumpled but gorgeous and not at all upset to be making a trip around to Billy's house at this late hour that _wasn't_ for work and that _wasn't_ a booty call.

They were quiet as they drove back to Billy's place, the radio playing softly, and Billy couldn't stop himself from stealing glances over at Steve, and then he was glad with how dark it was because sometimes Steve was glancing back at him and it made his cheeks warm. Max was making little snuffling noises in the back—the girl had been talking in her sleep for as long as Billy had known her—and Billy just felt really _content_ in this car right at this moment. He leaned back into the headrest and closed his eyes, and let himself be lulled by the gentle feel of the car. Once they got back to his place, he opened his eyes and looked over at Steve, who had parked his car next to Billy's just in front of his house.

"Stay the night," Billy said softly and it wasn't that he expected Steve to turn him down, because it was _late_ and Steve stayed over here a lot, that was why he basically had his own room at Billy's place, but he hadn't quite been expecting Steve to nod so readily.

"Yeah. Yeah, alright," Steve replied quietly and then looked into the backseat. "You wake her up and I'll unlock the house?" He suggested, turning off the engine of his car and already getting out and Billy moved to follow Steve's suggestion without even really thinking about it, because it just felt natural to do so, it always did. He got out of the car and opened the backseat, gently waking up Max and giving her a small smile as he did so. There was a time when things _weren't_ so good between them, but Max was more family than his father was, and he was thankful for the relationship that they had.

"Is there anywhere that you need to be in the morning?" Billy asked as he and Max walked up to the house, and Steve came to the front door to press the key fob for his car and make sure that the lights flashed, to indicate that the doors had locked. "Anywhere that I need to take you?" They walked into the house, where Steve had already flicked on one set of lights, on a dim setting so it wasn't too abrasive.

"I've got study group tomorrow at eight, but I'll just take the bus," Max replied, pulling out her phone and looking at the time.

"Are you going to be okay for that?" Billy noted the time, and the fact that Max had literally just been bailed out of jail, so it had been a pretty hectic night all round.

"Billy," Max shot him a withering look as she walked over to his entertainment unit and opened up the second drawer at the bottom to find one of the spare chargers for her phone. "I'm a college student doing a dual degree, working twenty hours a week and trying to protest all of the bullshit that the adults in this world have fucked up. I've got this." Steve was grinning in the kitchen where he was pouring himself a glass of water and as Max headed toward the stairs to go up to the second floor where the spare bedrooms and music studio and home gym were, she gave him a little salute, two fingers flicking out from her forehead, and Steve shot her a grin and waved.

Then it was Billy and Steve left in the living area.

Billy looked over to the large glass sliding doors and out toward the beach which was all dark other than where the moon was catching on the waves, and then looked back toward Steve who had finished off his glass of water.

"Ready for bed?" Steve asked quietly and Billy nodded, feeling his stomach squeeze. His house had five bedrooms, three upstairs and two downstairs. His main one was downstairs, the master with an en-suite, and the one opposite was almost as big with an en-suite as well, the one that Steve usually stayed in, but as they walked down the hall and flicked off the lights, Billy's breath caught up uncomfortably in this throat as he reached out and gripped Steve's sleeve. "Billy?" Steve murmured, stopping and turning around.

It was _completely_ dark, because they were away from the open windows and the curtains were all drawn at this end of the house, and none of the lights were on, and Billy's stomach dipped at the fact that he couldn't see Steve's face.

"Sleep with me tonight?" Billy asked before he could psych himself out of asking the question. Steve was quiet for a moment, and Billy immediately started second guessing himself and wondering if he should take it back, but his tongue felt heavy in his mouth and so he just stayed quiet.

"Yeah," Steve replied softly. "If you're sure."

"I am," Billy answered, voice coming out a bit choked off, but Steve didn't comment on it, and because of how dark it was, he couldn't see the way Billy's cheeks were red, so that was a blessing. Instead of going toward his usual room, he turned to the other side, with Billy, and they stepped into the master bedroom, Steve closing the door behind them. There was the main light that they could turn on, or the light switch for the little row of adjustable lights above the headboard, but the whole moment just felt delicate, and Billy didn't want to turn on the lights and _ruin_ it, so they just used the lights from their phones, not even using their torches, just the brightness from the screens. Billy moved to the right side of the bed and Steve moved around to the left as though this was something that they did all the time, and they undressed quietly in the dark, Billy keeping his eyes to himself, even though he wanted to steal a look across the bed and get a peek at what type of briefs Steve was wearing under his sweatpants.

They got into bed, and the whole thing just felt so _domestic_, and this was undoubtedly a totally normal thing for a lot of twenty-seven year olds—to be sliding between the sheets with someone that they had feelings for—but as Billy lay there awkwardly, keeping his hands to his side and his heels pressed together, he was actually pretty sure he had never done it.

Not with someone that he had _truly_ liked there.

There had been enough people that he couldn't count them all on both hands, but a lot of them hadn't even been in a _bed_, it had all been rushed stuff that he never wanted to bring back to the sanctuary of his home, and even things that had happened in a bed had never been with people that really mattered, not in the long run. A few had seemed important at the time, but they had all burnt out quickly, especially when it became clear that Billy's career and his very _straight_ image came first.

"Billy?" Steve whispered, although it sounded loud in the empty, dark room.

"Yeah?" Billy breathed out, and his voice sounded strangled, even to himself.

"Just breathe," Steve's voice was soothing, and Billy felt movement under the covers, and a moment later, he felt Steve's fingers brush against the side of his. Billy turned his hand over, letting Steve slide his fingers easily between Billy's, and their warm palms pressed together.

Billy was _stupidly_ thankful that his body hadn't started to sweat, because he would have been praying to sink into the mattress if his palms had been sticky when Steve had reached out to take his hand.

"Max is gonna take over the world if we're not careful," Steve commented after a few moments had passed, obviously looking for something to loosen Billy up, and it worked, because he let out a surprised laugh that practically bounced off the walls. But then Steve let out a laugh as well, and Billy's shoulders felt a lot less tense than they had a few moments ago.

"Or maybe it'll be the best thing that the world has ever seen," he reasoned. "She'd be a badass leader." Steve hummed in response and Billy couldn't help but add, "She's the biggest reason that I said yes to that rally, you know."

"Yeah...I know," Steve said softly and Billy liked that. He liked that Steve had known that but hadn't brought it up before Billy had been ready to talk about it. It still wasn't really something that he wanted to talk about, but it was _Steve_ which meant that he didn't mind opening up a bit more than he did with others.

"I feel she's doing so much—I just want to do my part, with the platform that I've got," he added, feeling a bit lame but somehow just _knowing_ that Steve wasn't going to judge him for it.

"I don't know if I've said it before, and even if I have, I'll said it again. I'm really proud of you for agreeing to do the rally. I know that—that your management wasn't the happiest about it, but I'm glad you're doing it anyway," Steve squeezed Billy's hand tightly, and Billy felt a wave of calm roll over him, just like it usually did when Steve did things like that—held onto his wrist or elbow or shoulder and gave him a squeeze or a tug, it had become like a signal between them that Steve was _there_ and that everything was okay.

Billy also appreciated that Steve hadn't mentioned _Neil Hargrove_. Because if they were both being honest, it wasn't his whole management team who had an issue with him performing at a gun control rally, it was Neil, but just the mere thought of his father right now sent a cold chill for him, he wasn't sure how he would react if his name was said out loud right now.

"Do you have plans tomorrow night? Or, I guess, tonight would be the better question, given the time now," Steve asked, changing the subject up again, fingers still tight around Billy's and his thumb pressed over his pulse point, and Billy couldn't stop himself from smiling shakily at the ceiling.

"You would know if I had plans, Steve," Billy replied. "Better than I would." Because even if the plans weren't related directly to his work, Steve still knew his schedule inside out, even things like dinner with his friends, sessions with his personal trainer and coffee outings with Heather Holloway, they were all things that got scheduled, especially right now, when he was juggling writing new music, recording some new songs and getting ready for a role in the _Metamorphosis_ show. Sometimes things came up and Steve didn't know, but that was pretty unusual when he was busy.

"You don't have anything in your schedule," Steve replied idly. "But you might have something else on." The way that Steve was phrasing it was as though he was giving Billy an out, but Billy didn't _want_ one, he wanted to be saying yes to whatever it was Steve was actually asking, he really didn't care what it was.

"What are you asking, Steve?" Billy asked instead of just blurting out that he would follow Steve anywhere, even if he _had_ plans.

"There's a Little Mix concert tomorrow night," Steve said and Billy couldn't help but laugh.

"Little Mix?" He asked into the dark and Steve made a murmuring noise at the back of his throat.

"Don't you laugh like you don't like them, I've seen your face when _Power_ comes on," Steve laughed as he replied and Billy just grinned. He wasn't going to argue because yes, he did like Little Mix, although Steve was definitely wrong, because while Billy liked Little Mix, Steve _loved_ them. He knew every word to every one of their songs that came on and when _Power_ played in the car, he turned it up and belted it out and always did a little head wobble thing when singing the line '_bike-bike-bike-bike-bike-bike-whoop_!' at the end.

Maybe that was way his face lit up when the song came on, because he knew that he was going to get a performance from Steve.

"Anyway, I got VIP tickets for Robin and me and I was wondering if you wanted to come with us?" Steve finally finished explaining. So if Robin was going to be there, it wasn't a _date_, but it was going to be _very_ public, even in a VIP box, so that was probably a good thing. That didn't mean that Billy didn't feel just a little bit disappointed that it _wasn't_ a date, though, even though he and Steve went out together on a regular basis, probably enough to consider them dates if he really wanted to. "Jules is going to be there as well. With Robin," Steve added that a bit quickly but it made Billy blink.

"Wait, what? I thought Jules was—straight? Like, into guys? That would be straight, right?" Billy felt his cheeks heating up over his questions, which sounded as though they were all coming out wrong. The answering silence made him feel like he had _really_ stepped in it, and he chewed down on his bottom lip.

"Jules is a woman, so yeah, if she was only into men then she would be straight," Steve replied, and his voice was surprisingly gentle in response.

"Right," Billy said awkwardly, and his grip on Steve's hand loosened a bit. But Steve tightened his grip in response, and it was reassuring. "So she's...Not straight?"

"No, I guess not," Steve shrugged, Billy feeling the movement next to him. "I mean, her and Robin met a while ago, at one of our events where Robin was my date, and they met up a few times since. Robin had told me that there was someone that she had a _thing_ for and that they had been messaging for a while, but she never told me _who_ it was. But it turns out that—yeah, it's Jules. I think they've only gone out a couple of times now, this is the first time I was going to be with them, because technically it was just meant to be me and Robin, but she whined until I said Jules could come. And then—and then I told her that if she got to invite Jules then I got to invite you." Billy couldn't stop the wide grin that took over his face at the way that Steve phrased it, making it sound more and more like a double date.

But then he stopped.

"Uh—does Jules...I mean—she doesn't know about, you know, _me_. Does she?" Billy felt the horrible feeling of apprehension crawl over him. "I mean, I guess—I mean, it would be okay—I just—"

"Billy," Steve's voice was firm and he was rolling over, tucking himself in closer to Billy so that they were sharing the same air, Steve's head moving until he was resting on Billy's pillow. "I haven't said anything to Jules about you. I haven't said anything to anyone in your management team. The only people I have ever talked about you with are one or two of my friends, people that I trust with my life, and that's just because you're part of _my_ life, and I need to talk things through. And even then, I've never told anyone everything." It still made Billy feel a bit nervous, that Steve was talking about him to his friends, but it made sense, and it was a _good thing_, if there was something between them.

"Okay," Billy's voice came out a lot quieter than he expected. Steve didn't say anything for a moment, and then the hand that wasn't twined together with Billy's lifted, and Steve's hand fumbled a bit on Billy's forearm and then the top of his head before his thumb was swiping gently across Billy's cheekbone. The touch was soft and almost loving and it made Billy exhale in relief.

"You don't have to come if you don't want to," Steve told him. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to, not with me, not ever, okay?" Billy blinked at the sudden rush of tears that pressed against his eyelids, at the sincerity in Steve's voice. "Billy? You okay?"

"Yeah," Billy replied, and his voice was even _quieter_ than before and it also broke in the middle. Steve hummed quietly and leaned forward until his lips brushed over Billy's nose in the dark. Billy's eyes closed and he found himself nodding, but Steve didn't ask what Billy meant by it, letting him take it in his own time. "So..." he went quiet again, but Steve was still close, breath warm on his cheek and the hand that was cupping his face was still there, gentle and secure and grounding. "Would this be a double date?"

"Do you _want_ this to be a double date?" Steve responded straight away and Billy wished that Steve had just answered the question, but he guessed that Steve had asked him out in the first place, he had to meet him part way as well.

"Yes," Billy murmured. "A lot." There was a sound from Steve and Billy was pretty sure that he if he could see, he would be seeing Steve's smile, and then Steve's lips were brushing over his nose again, in a gentle kiss. Billy tilted his head back, so that his mouth was just a whisper away from Steve's mouth. Steve stilled, not closing the gap for a moment, as though giving Billy a chance to pull back, but Billy _wanted_ this, he _wanted_ Steve to kiss him on the lips this time, not on the nose, and after a moment, Steve leaned forward just slightly, enough that there was pressure against Billy's mouth, but not enough that it was going to be a deep kiss.

But it was enough.

"Then it's a double date," Steve said softly as he broke the connection, but still stayed close to Billy. "We can talk in the morning if you want, yeah? When I drive you to your PT session. I have an alarm set, so don't worry, I'll wake you up." Billy realized just how heavy his eyelids were at the reminder of sleep, and the fact that it was early hours of the morning, and how Steve felt so safe and warm next to him.

It felt as though he had simply blinked, and then he was asleep.

* * *

Billy eyes opened first early in the morning, and there was sun shining through the tiny gaps in his blinds, the room glowing a hazy yellow, and he blinked a few times, his entire body still feeling heavy and sated, more than half asleep. There was a warm body curled up behind him and it was a shock, because it had been a long time since there had been anyone else in his bed with him—he's pretty sure the last person had actually been Carol, maybe six or seven months ago, when she'd had a fight with Tommy and gotten so drunk that she'd passed out in bed with him—and he didn't actually think he had _ever_ been spooned.

And he was being spooned by _Steve_.

Maybe that was what made him fall back to sleep, with a content smile on his face.

* * *

"Billy?" There was a soft voice just by his ear, and a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Baby, wake up," the hand on his shoulder squeezed and Billy blinked slowly, licking his lips as he opened his eyes and was greeted with the soft sight of Steve crouched beside the bed, hair floppy and a bit of a mess around his face, and he smiled when he realized that Billy was waking up. "Come on, your session is in half an hour. I've got your a smoothie ready to drink in the car." Billy groaned at the idea of getting up, turning his head into his pillow and letting out a louder groan which made Steve laugh. "Come on," he repeated. "I've gotta get you to your session, because you've got another day with Matt and the acting coach and those few other actors and I need to get you there by ten."

"Yeah," Billy mumbled. "I know." He took in a deep breath and then realized that the pillow smelt a bit like the shampoo that Steve used, like citrus, mingled together with Billy's own scent.

He liked that.

He hoped that their mingled smells stayed in the bed for him to fall asleep in tonight.

Steve's hand moved through his hair, only briefly and lightly, and then it was gone and he was leaving the room and giving Billy space to get dressed, and as Billy sat up, his mind flickered back to something that Steve had said.

_Baby._

He really wanted to hear that again.

Billy changed into a pair of loose pair of sweatpants and a tank top and then threw a change of clothes into a bag and and as he walked down the hallway, he grabbed out a towel and put that into the bag as well before heading out into the open room. Steve was wearing the same clothes he had been in last night, but he also had one of Billy's hoodies thrown over the top that made Billy's stomach squeeze and he smiled as Billy came out, holding up the bottle with his smoothie in it.

"Max was gone when I woke up, which isn't surprising, given how self-sufficient how she is, but she left a note," Steve nodded over to the pink white board that was propped up against the side of his fridge, which had just appeared over the past few months. Probably from Carol, or maybe even Steve.

_You guys are gross and cute. Love you, loser x_

Billy felt his cheeks heat up at the message and his eyes flicked over to Steve, who just had a smile on his face. In fact, the smile was almost smug, but then he was picking up the bottle with his smoothie and holding it out to him, and their fingers grazed as Billy took it, and Steve's smile transitioned to something smaller.

"Let's go," Steve said. "I'll get you to your session and then I'll go get something to eat so that you don't hangry when you're practicing lines." Billy attempted to pout at Steve, because he didn't get _hangry_ and he was a professional, he could keep it together, but Steve just grinned at him. And it was a proper table read that was happening today, so he really needed to be feeling his best.

And Steve always made him feel his best.

Even if it was going to have to be after a grueling PT session.

They didn't take Billy's Camaro, since Steve would be driving and it was only on _rare_ occasions that Billy was okay with someone else drive his baby, and Steve's G-Wagon was parked right up in front of the house, ready to go from where he had parked it last night. Billy threw his sports bag in the back seat and settled into the passenger seat as he drank from the smoothie that Steve had made. It was green and probably made with things that made Steve gag, because Steve was more into sweet or fruity, but he knew what Billy needed before he went into the gym, and it made Billy smile. Steve had his phone plugged in and music was playing softly as they drove, neither of them feeling the need to talk, and Billy chewed down on his bottom lip for a few moments as they stopped at a red light, before he reached out and tentatively put his hand on Steve's thigh.

Steve didn't tense or pull away, just glanced over at Billy with a smile before shifting gears and accelerating, and Billy shifted until his hand was resting more comfortably over Steve's thigh, palm pressed to the side and fingers curving toward his knee. They still didn't say anything, but Billy wondered if maybe they weren't going down side streets and needing to slow down for traffic on and off which required Steve to change the gears every few minutes, Steve would be covering Billy's hand with his own.

"Alright," Steve murmured. "I'll see you in an hour and a half?" Billy nodded and made a face, knowing that it was going to be a long day with the table read next.

"Yeah, okay," Billy replied, and he wanted to reach out and give Steve a kiss, but even though the windows were tinted, there were people walking near the car and glancing over and it was just too public. He could only imagine what would happen if a picture was taken at the wrong time and they would end up online within a matter of seconds, and then...Things would be whipped into an absolute hurricane. He moved his hand away from Steve's thigh and took off his seat belt and reached for the door handle.

"Oh—don't forget this," Steve reached backwards, through over the front seats to grab Billys gym bag from the backseat. He passed it to Billy, who was half out the door by this stage, and when Billy twisted back to grab the bag from him, Steve's hand landed firmly over his forearm and gave him a squeeze. Billy couldn't help but catch his bottom lip with his teeth and Steve smiled at him before letting go of his arm.

As Billy jogged into his exclusive gym, he tried not to let his brain get stuck on things that had happened with Steve this morning and last night.

Because Neil was going to be at the table read today.

After the night of his concert and a singular photo with a Pride flag that had tipped his father over the edge and Steve standing in and making it very clear that he was aware of what happened between them, Billy hadn't seen him.

He hadn't come to the photoshoot or the business dinner or the meetings in the past couple of days. He also hadn't communicated directly with Billy at all, which had been both a relief and also nerve-wracking, because the only time Billy ever went this long without talking to Neil was when _Neil_ was on holiday, not even Billy, and even then he couldn't remember the last time it had been that long. Neil had clearly still been in contact with Matt and also Dominic Master, because they had mentioned texts and emails from him in passing, but Billy hadn't heard anything directly. He was trying not to think about it, and he was the king of compartmentalizing, but if the kiss with Steve _hadn't_ happened, he wouldn't have anything distracting him and would be spending every spare moment obsessing over Neil.

After his work out and a quick shower and change into something that was a bit more presentable for a table read, and as he opened the front door of the gym, he caught a flash of cameras going off in the corner of his eye and it made his jaw clench. It was something that he was used to, and he didn't react anything like he had a few years ago, but he could never help that flash of frustration when they did find him.

Steve was parked at the curb, right outside the gym, somewhere that he only got away with parking because of who he was picking up, and as soon as Billy got into the passenger seat, he was passing him a fresh smoothie and a box of salad. Billy threw his bag in the backseat, pulled his seatbelt on and then began pulling open the salad box. He was never in a head space to talk after he had finished a PT session, just needing some time to decompress, and Steve never pushed him to talk. They arrived at the studio, Steve flashing his credentials at the gate, and then swiping a tag for them to get into the parking lot downstairs and once they were in the dark of the underground parking lot, Steve turned off the engine and the lights for his car.

Billy spoke first.

"I'll come with you to the concert," he said.

"Yeah?" Steve prompted, and his face was half in shadows but Billy could see the smile.

"Yeah," Billy nodded, and he tried _not_ to have a completely goofy smile break out over his own face, because they went to concerts all the time—hell, Billy couldn't even count the amount of concerts he had been to in his life time, especially if he was including his own—but this just felt different. "And—and I'll talk to Jules."

"You sure?" Steve arched an eyebrow and Billy didn't need to be able to see his whole face to know that there was surprise there.

"Yeah," Billy nodded. "I mean, she's been working with me for a while and she's cool and...I mean, it's her job to protect me anyway, and if she's dating Robin then...Maybe that means that I'm going to be seeing her more?" It wasn't as though he saw Robin a lot, but they sent each other snapchats and a couple of messages every now and then, and Billy liked messaging her, and it would be good to see her more. Maybe part of him also thought it would be good to see her more often because that meant that things would be more serious between him and Steve, but it was also because he liked her.

"Alright," Steve nodded, and he looked out his window, and then over his shoulder, out the rear view mirror, before reaching over and pressing a soft kiss to Billy's cheek. "Come on, I've gotta get you inside." Billy's cheeks were flaming red as he got out of the wagon, and it wasn't anything to do with his work out. He had to get in the right head space for the table read, for the role that he was playing, especially since acting wasn't something that came as easy to him as writing music and singing, but it was something that he had really enjoyed recently. Steve didn't say anything as they walked toward the elevators at the far end of the semi-dark parking lot, knowing what Billy's method was, using his swipe card to get them access to the elevator and pressing the button for the right floor, standing close to Billy, but not crowding him.

Just that simple gesture was enough to make Billy want to push Steve up against the glass walls of the elevator and kiss him, taste his lips like those precious few times that he had before, but he settled for bumping the back of his hand against the back of Steve's. He trailed his crooked knuckled over the back of Steve's fingers, drawing in a deep breath before the doors slid open and Billy slid his hands purposefully into his pockets to keep them to himself.

There were a couple of people in the hallway, waiting for the elevator, and Billy knew that he had done the proper thing in moving away from Steve, but he _hated_ that it was the _proper_ thing.

"Billy," Matt suddenly appeared, and Jules Schafer was right behind him with a bright smile on her face, wiggling her eyebrows playfully once her eyes had slid past Billy and landed on Steve, and Billy wondered how much else he had missed between them. Not that there was anything between them to miss, exactly, he just hadn't even realized that they were _friends_ outside of work. "There's a couple of things that I need to run by you," Matt said, slinging an arm easily around Billy's shoulder, tugging him in close, even though he should know that Billy just needed his mind quiet right now before going into the meeting room. Billy blinked as he tried to listen to everything that Matt was saying, even though he had a habit of talking at a hundred words per minute, but when he looked back over his shoulder and saw Jules and Steve walking next to each other and laughing over something, he felt strangely left out.

He pursed his lips together and focused back on Matt, and then just as they were about to reach the meeting room, his eyes found a familiar figure facing away from him outside the door, standing with a couple of other management looking people that Billy didn't know the name of.

Neil Hargrove.

"Oh, great, Neil, you're here!" Matt piped up, raising his voice, and Billy's shoulders tightened, even though he tried to keep his expression impassive, and Neil turned around to look at the four people in the hallway. His mouth stretched into his normal, wolf-like smile that was maybe meant to be an effort just at a _normal_ smile, to put people at ease, but it just showed his teeth and reminded Billy of nature documentaries that his mother used to like to watch. And even his other smiles—the smarmy ones for bigger names at the labels or the sickly-sweet ones reserved for Max and Susan Hargrove—they had one thing in common.

They didn't reach his eyes.

Which were still cold and hard.

It had taken a long time for Billy to realize that his fathers eyes were never going to warm up, something that he wished he had accepted when he was a lot younger.

"Billy's been doing fucking great," Matt grinned and gave Billy's shoulders a squeeze, sort of in a way that Billy imagined a proud father might do, but it wasn't something that he had ever experienced before. His entire body felt uptight, his earlier good mood and that bone deep satisfaction that he'd had after sleeping next to Steve all night and then going through a good work out completely disappearing, and he curled his hands into fists in the pocket of his jacket, knuckles undoubtedly bloodless. "I assume you're coming out for the shoot in Indiana?" He asked. Neil's eyes settled on Billy, and Billy's face was frozen in a neutral expression, but it felt like maybe there was a twitch in the corner of his eye.

"Of course," Neil's words sounded more like a threat, even though logically Billy had _known_ that he was going to be coming out to Nashville. Neil was his manager, it made sense that he would be coming to a shoot where Billy was going to be on an Emmy award winning show, but just that knowledge that he was going to be breathing down his neck _there_ as well made his stomach squeeze.

Then there was a warm hand on the small of his back and his body relaxed, even without turning around and seeing who it was.

"We need to get inside," Steve said quietly and Matt moved to push open the door for them, not seeming to notice the way Neil's pretense of a smile had dropped away as soon as his eyes had narrowed in on Steve. Billy knew that Steve wouldn't have missed it, though, but he didn't falter behind Steve, steering him inside, his hand still at the base of his spine, guiding him into the bustling room. There were lots of faces that Billy recognized, he'd been working with them a lot on and off for the past couple of days, but right now he just focused on the feel of Steve's hand and the warmth coming through the thin hoodie he was wearing and tried not to think about his father just a few steps behind him.

"Billy!" Kira Daniels, one of the series regulars, and the actress that Billy had the most interaction with in his characters short arc, called out and waved at him. Billy smiled at her tightly, noting the little slip of paper that was folded up and stating his name in bold next to her, like it had the past couple of days. He was only a part of the table reads for a short week, since he wasn't going to be a big part of the show, and then he was only flying out to Indiana for a week in total, and that included the rehearsal and shooting of his scenes for the two episodes, getting in some extra time with an acting coach and skyping with some of the directors and Matt leading up to it.

"I better..." Billy trailed off as he looked over his shoulder at Steve, eyes searching Steve's face, and Steve gave him a small smile and a nod. It felt as though the pressure of his fingertips increased for a short moment before Steve's arm dropped back to his side and he jerked his head back over to where Jules was standing.

"I've got some things I need to organise. You need anything, you text me. I'll still be in the building, yeah?" Steve told him and Billy nodded, feeling relief rush through him once again. Steve's lips pulled up in a slightly bigger smile, and then he was turning and heading back over to Jules, and Billy forced himself to turn around and walk over to Kira, so that he didn't stare like a puppy after Steve. There were a couple of people who spoke to him, and Billy forced himself to be polite, and he knew one of their names—only because they were one of the lead actors—and then he finally got to the seat next to Kira.

"Hey, babes," Kira grinned at him, all perky smiles and bouncing blonde hair, which was quite ironic since her role in the show was as a recovering drug addict with dishwater brown hair, but Billy liked her well enough.

"Hey," Billy gave her his easy, trademark smile, before picking up the script in front of him, and she didn't try to say anything, knowing that it could take time to get into the right place for the role, which was something he had been trying to do since he'd gotten to the elevator.

The table read wasn't bad, everyone was professional, although Billy and two other people in the scene were clearly the odd ones out, even though the regulars made them feel welcome. Going into their third season, the regulars who were there had mainly been together since the first season, and they had a good rapport between them, and when they were having breaks, they all got on well and found it easy to transition between their characters and themselves, banter happening easily. Billy could have got on well with the couple he spoke with, but he wasn't really interested in making friends, and then there was the fact that he could feel his fathers eyes boring into him from across the room.

He had felt them the whole time.

He had messed up his lines twice, even though it was a simple _read_, which meant the lines were right there in front of him, and he was stiff.

He wished Neil would fucking disappear.

But it wasn't the first time he had thought that to himself, and it wouldn't be the last time, and he had been dealing with it his whole life, and he would deal with it again, so he took in a deep breath, used a few grounding techniques that his therapist had taught him, and he pulled himself together. He definitely felt that he was doing better in the second half of the day, and when Steve came around when they were having a break to bring him a fresh bottle of water and an apple, he gave him a subtle squeeze on the elbow which made Billy's cheeks warm up.

He refused to look across the room to where his father was watching him, eyes practically burning into the side of his head.

"So this was your last day, right?" Kira said as they were wrapping up, packing their things and getting ready to leave.

"Yeah, so I won't see you guys again until we're on set," Billy replied, feeling a lot more comfortable around her.

"You never know, they might end up asking you to come back later on," Kira grinned up at him as she picked up her handbag and slid it over her arm. "You're doing a good job and you know you've got the look," she wasn't subtle about the way her eyes slid down over Billy's body, and Billy rolled his eyes with a playful laugh, because there was just something about Kira that didn't seem as though she was really checking him out in a way that she was interested in him.

"I honestly don't know if I have the time," Billy shrugged.

"Yeah, I hear ya," Kira nodded and then she leaned in to give him a quick hug, arms tight around his shoulders before giving him a pat on the back. "Well, I'll see you next month, Billy. It's been nice meeting you!"

"See you, Kira," Billy replied, eyes skimming the room. One of the directors was still there with his assistant and a producer, and two of the other actors and their managers were there. Steve wasn't in the room, but that wasn't unusual, because a lot of the PA's and other assistants were spread throughout the building, doing other things. That didn't mean that Billy didn't _wish_ Steve was in the room, though, and he sent off a quick text to Steve to let him know that he was finished and ready to go, and he headed to the door. As soon as the door opened, he couldn't stop the way his eyes flicked around, instantly looking up either way of the hall.

Neil wasn't there.

He had left an hour or so after lunch, after speaking wtih a couple of the other managers who were talking to the producers, but other than staring at Billy from across the room, fixing him with a cold look, there hadn't been anything else, and he had been able to deal with that, steadily feeling better as more time had gone on. He must have left for the day, and Billy tapped the side of his phone, waiting for a response to come back from Steve when Jules appeared, next to a guy with a ring in his nose.

"Oh, Billy!" Jules flashed a grin at him, bright pink lips stretching before nodding at the guy at her side. "I'll see you later, Norm," she told him and he nodded at her before walking past Billy and then looked back at Billy. "We posted a couple of pictures of the table read today, on your IG and Twitter. Just standard stuff, and they were pictures taken by Norman—" she waved a hand after the guy who was disappearing down the hall. "He deals with most of the PR for the show itself. And there were some that were put up on the official IG and Twitter for _Metamorphosis_, one of them is a pretty close up shot of you and Kira which looks really good, helps to generate more fan and media attention," she smirked as she reached out to punch Billy's arm lightly. "Even though you don't really need it." Billy gave her a small smile, and for some reason he felt a bit nervous about what he was about to say next.

"Okay, that's cool," he replied, because he didn't know what else to say, since he really didn't care all that much about the social media content. He knew that it was important, but that was why he had someone in his team who did all of that stuff for him, because he really wasn't interested in all of the fluffy, PR things that had to happen. "Uh—so I just wanted to give you a heads up that I'm—I'm coming to the concert with you guys tonight?" It came out as a question, sounding unsure of himself in a way that a lot of people didn't expect when it came to Billy.

"Oh, you're into Little Mix?" Jules' grin widened. "Nice, I thought all that shit about you and Jesy were just rumours." Billy's eyebrows pulled together in confusion, trying to keep up with Jules' train of thought, and then he remembered rumours from a couple of years ago, about him and Jesy Nelson being seen together a few times which, naturally, meant that they were together. It had all been _bullshit_—everything that had ever been published about his love life in official magazines was bullshit, Billy had never actually read anything factual about himself in a proper tabloid when it came to his sexual orientation. He'd come across some specualtion from fans online, and there had been some theories run in online blogs, but never in actual print—likely something that his father had always kept on top of.

_Definitely_ something that his father had always kept on top of.

Still did.

Always controlling the narrative.

"No, that's not it—"

"Hey," Steve appeared at Billy's side and just like this morning, he put his hand at the small of Billy's back, and Billy hadn't realized that his shoulders had been lifting and tensing as his mind had raced. "You said you were done?"

"Billy was just saying he was coming with us tonight," Jules smiled widely. "It'll be fun—I don't think I've ever been out drinking with you, Billy." Billy parted his lips to reply, to tell her that there was a reason for that, that he hardly ever went out drinking, but suddenly she was frowning. "Wait—no," she waved a finger between Billy and Steve, eyes pointedly on where Steve's hand was making contact with Billy, and Billy's stomach dropped. "_Oh_," she pursed her lips together and then lifted her eyebrows, nodding, and it was like...That was it.

She had noticed.

"Okay," she nodded her head a few times. "You know that people are going to recognize you, right?" Her face was gentle but speculative. "There _will_ be photos taken of you and posted online. I mean, we're going to be in the VIP section, but..."

"I know," Billy replied.

"Okay," Jules nodded slowly. "Well, as the person who deals with most of your social media fallout, just—try to keep things PG, but I promise that I won't say anything else about it tonight." Billy nodded in relief, although he was still waiting for some other comment about him and Steve.

There was nothing.

"You'll pick me up at six?" Jules checked with Steve and he nodded, leaning in to give her a quick kiss on the cheek and she flashed one more smile at him, looking once more to where they were touching and then turned and left, heading in the same direction that the other social media guy had gone. Billy stared after her before looking across at Steve, his expression confused, and Steve arched an eyebrow at him.

"You alright?" He asked softly.

"Yeah, I just...So she knows?" Billy asked slowly. "That's what happened here, right?"

"Yeah," Steve nodded slowly, eyes flickering across Billy's face, taking everything in, and Billy wasn't sure what he was reading there, but he didn't drop his hand from where it was pressed against Billy's back, which he appreciated. "I mean, she would have figured it out tonight, it wouldn't have been hard," his words were quiet but not condescending, even though it was obvious. Billy appreciated that. He wanted to lean in against Steve's side, feel Steve's arm around him, but they were out in the open, and he just _couldn't_ do that. "I should get you home—give you time to get ready for tonight."

"Okay," Billy nodded, letting Steve steer him toward the elevators.

* * *

It was just going on six thirty when Billy saw Steve's G-Wagon in the security camera, just outside the gate of his driveway, and he watched as Steve reached out and tapped in the security code and the gate slid open. There wasn't anyone in the passenger seat, but the windows were all wound down and he could easily make out Robin in the seat behind him. Billy grabbed his wallet and his keys from the bench top and walked to the door, his phone vibrating in his hand just as he reached the door, a simple text saying _Here_ from Steve as he was pulling the door open. He locked the door behind him and walked down the stairs, trying not to let the stupid amount of excitement that he was feeling show too much on his face.

Because he really _was_ stupidly excited.

To the point where he had actually rung Max and blurted everything out to her, and she had laughed and then helped him pick out an outfit, even though she was in the middle of cramming for some exam and one of her nerd friends was there with her. Max had taken him off speaker phone once she realized what the call had been about, and she had been careful about what she had said, which Billy appreciated, because he knew that was her way of looking out for him.

"Billy!" Robin cried out as he opened the passenger side door, the cloying smell of weed _very_ clear in the air and he grinned as he looked back at her.

"Hey, Robin," he grinned back at her and she wiggled forward so that she could reach through the front seats and give him a one armed hug and a smushed kiss on his cheek. "Hey, Jules," he gave the blonde an awkward wave and she waved excitedly back at him, holding up a nondescript purple water bottle.

"Want some _te-qui-la_?" She sung out and Steve snorted from the drivers seat as he started reversing out of the driveway. Billy couldn't help but let out a huff of laughter as he looked across at Steve.

"How many drinks in are they?" He asked.

"Given that bottle is pretty much _straight_ tequila, I don't even know," Steve replied, but he didn't look bothered. "Definitely one joint down though."

"Ooh, I have some gummies left, Billy!" Robin announced. "Did you want one?" Billy couldn't help but look at Jules in the rear view mirror and she met his gaze. She gave him a smile, sipping from her water bottle and then leaning across to kiss Robin squarely on the mouth, and then both of them seemed completely distracted. Steve glanced across at Billy and then reached over and put his hand on Billy's thigh, giving it a squeeze.

"It's okay," he murmured. "None of us are working tonight, but we've all got each others back, yeah?" Billy nodded, and after a moment of hesitation, he covered Steve's hand with his own, keeping it on his thigh. They were about halfway to the stadium, at stop lights, when suddenly there was a shout from the back seat.

"Oi! Stevie! Turn this shit up!" Robin demanded, suddenly lunging forward between the seats and there was a squeal of laughter from Jules. Billy couldn't help but laugh along as Steve _tried_ to turn his stereo up, but Robin batted his hand away and took over, turning the volume up ridiculously loud. He didn't recognize the song at all, but everyone else in the car did, even if Steve didn't sing as loudly as the girls in the backseat.

"_If you're a woman, you were made to pleasure me_!" Robin was sort of scream-singing, while also trying to do a strange low voice.

"_But out in public, hide them shoulders underneath_!" Jules replied, just as loud, pumping one of her fists out her open window.

"_Society is suckin' on your dick_!" They chanted together and Billy almost choked on his breath. "_And since I got a pussy, I'm a bitch! And since you are a dude, yeah—you can tell the truth, but as soon as I do—_I'm a bitch!" He couldn't stop laughing, and when he looked across at the car next to them, who could definitely hear every single word that the girls were singing given all the windows were down and Jules was singing the loudest in the car behind him, and the woman in the drivers seat looked absolutely horrified. He was glad that he had his sunglasses perched on his nose and one elbow propped up on the edge of the window so that the hand was partially covering his face so she hopefully couldn't tell who he was.

But then the best part came.

"_I'm that motherfucking bitch_!" Robin was throwing her arms around her head and wiggling in the backseat and Steve was tapping his fingers on Billy's thigh to the beat.

"_You should be suckin' on my clit_!" Jules screamed out and the woman's mouth dropped open, her eyes wide and she looked like the kind of person who wanted to lodge a formal complaint against fun. Billy kept laughing and then the light turned green and Steve was accelerating forward.

The concert didn't start until seven-thirty, but with traffic, and having to navigate the parking, even though they were in a specific area that was cordoned off from the public, they didn't get into the stadium until almost that time anyway. They took back hallways that Robin looked impressed by—Billy would be as well if this wasn't something that he dealt with on a regular basis—and were shown to their VIP booth. The stadium was huge, one that Billy had performed in a couple of times before, although he had never actually been up in the audience before. The booth was up in the stands, with their own private doorway that lead back to the back hallways and sides and front were reasonably high, giving them some semblance of privacy, although if people in the stands around them spotted him, they would definitely be able to get some decent photos.

But Billy wasn't going to think about that now.

Jules and Robin were both clearly incredibly comfortably together, and they made an attractive pair, even if they were complete opposites. Robin was in a pair of black Vans, a black miniskirt with torn edges and a simple white shirt that was semi-see through with a black bra underneath, her make up smoky around her eyes and her lips a simple pink and glossy. Jules on the other hand was wearing a long green skirt and a shiny cropped emerald green shirt with fancy green eye make up and glitter sprinkling her cheeks and forehead.

"I wouldn't have felt like a third wheel _at all_ if you hadn't come along," Steve stated sarcastically as he and Billy made themselves comfortable in the chairs that were a lot better than the plastic seats that most the stadium was made up of.

"Not at all," Billy agreed with a grin as he looked over Steve's shoulder, to where Robin and Jules were half wrapped around each other, lips pressed together and Robin's arm firmly wrapped around Jules' body. "Who's the opening act?"

"Ava Max," Steve replied, and he lifted his arm to rest it along the back of Billy's chair in a casual move. Billy licked his lips as he nodded, wondering if it would be incredibly obvious if he just leaned back so that Steve's arm would be touching his. He didn't think Steve would mind, that was kind of_ the point_ of the whole arm-over-the-chair move, but...

Suddenly the lights dimmed and screaming filled the stadium and Billy winced, not used to being in the middle of the noise and not having ear plugs, but then he heard Steve's low laugh, so close to his ear, and his stomach squeezed a little. The arm on the back of his chair didn't move, but Billy liked knowing that it was there.

Ava Max was a brilliant opening act, even if Billy was completely tired of her _Sweet But Pyscho_. One of the last songs that she did, though, wasn't one that he recognized, but Robin dragged Steve to his feet so that she could throw her arm around him and sing, so it was clearly a favourite of hers.

Billy tried not to be jealous of the fact that Robin and Steve had their arms around each other and that it didn't _matter_ who saw them like that, and when the song came to an end—Robin singing out loudly with the last line '_So much so that it's freaking me_'—she gave him a squeeze and an excited hug and kissed him on the cheek and it was all friendly and Billy _knew_ that there was absolutely nothing between them, but he just wished that _he_ could be doing that.

The lights came on after Ava had left the stage and there was about half an hour before Little Mix was to come on stage. Jules announced that they should go and get drinks, but it would be easier if Billy stayed behind given they would get mobbed if he was seen in line for drinks, and it would also be easier if Steve went, since he was the sober one. Jules and Steve decided to go, leaving Robin and Billy behind, and as soon as they were gone, Robin moved across one seat, so that she was in the seat that Steve vacated.

"So," Robin stated, eyes bright and a little bloodshot.

"So," Billy parroted back, a small smile pulling at his lips.

"Is this the part where I give you the shovel talk?" Robin asked with a raised eyebrow and Billy frowned in confusion.

"The shovel talk?" He asked slowly and Robin made a face.

"You know—you hurt Steve, I hurt you. With a shovel," she added and Billy couldn't help the smile that spread across his face as he realized what was happening.

"Oh, right," he scratched the side of his face. "Yeah, okay."

"Okay," Robin grinned.

And that was it.

Sometimes it was hard to process that his father lived in the same world as people like Steve and Jules and Robin.

He just didn't understand.

But that wasn't something that he wanted to think about tonight.

Steve and Jules came back with drinks, a lemonade for Billy and a beer for Steve but something a bit more potent for the girls, and then Robin took a selfie of the four of them. She posted it to her story on Instagram, and Billy fleetingly wondered if that was something she had run by Jules beforehand, but then he just_ didn't care_. He was out with people who really didn't care that he was having fun_ with a guy_ and he just wanted to enjoy it.

If he had thought that the crowd had been deafening when the lights had gone down for Ava Max, it was nothing compared to when Little Mix actually came out on stage. Steve was laughing next to him—his arm slung around the back of Billy's seat again—and Jules and Robin were both standing up and dancing energetically, all pressed up against one another. Billy wanted to lean forward in his seat, but at the same time he wanted to press as far back into his seat as he possibly could so that he could feel Steve's arm against his back. There was an interesting intro to one of their songs that featured Piers Morgan—Steve cupped a hand around his mouth and booed along with the rest of the stadium and Billy couldn't help but laugh—and then Robin was grabbing both of their hands and pulling them to their feet so that they were standing at the front of their booth alongside the two girls.

Billy wasn't much of a dancer, but it just felt really good to let loose.

An old song, one of the first ones that they released came on, and Billy remembered hearing Max play it a bit when it had first came out and he knew most of the words, and Steve laughed next to him, bumping his hip with his own, and Robin was the most awkward dancer in the world while Jules actually had some rhythm to her. Then there was a break and they all sat down, and when the singers came back on the stage they'd changed into softer looking outfits, and Jade Thirlwell started talking in her strong Geordie accent, and the song was immediately recognizable as _Secret Love Song_, one that Billy had heard a few times, mainly because of the public response to it. Robin and Jules stood up again, but they didn't dance, like they had before, just had their arms wrapped around each other and sort of swayed together, every now and then exchanging kisses.

It was soft and beautiful and Billy definitely felt as though he was intruding.

After the second chorus, as Jesy Nelson and Pierre Edwards were reaching for one anothers hands and Leigh-Anne Pinnock began singing, Billy felt Steve's arm move, and then his fingers were gently brushing the back of Billy's. Billy looked across at Steve, who was watching him with a soft expression, and Billy swallowed the lump in his seat as he turned his hand over and pressed his palm against Steve's, linking their fingers together.

He would have been lying if he said he wasn't relieved when the song was over. They sung it without fanfare, simply standing there on stage and baring their souls, their voices clear and filling the stadium and the fans all singing back, lights from phones filling the building, and it all made his heart beat unsteadily in his chest. He was gripping Steve's hand harder than was probably appropriate for a first date, but Steve didn't say anything, he just squeezed back.

The songs picked back up and Steve encouraged Billy back to his feet, and the only downside was that Steve let go of his hand. But they danced together, hips and legs bumping up against one anothers, and Robin and Jules danced next to them, Robin and Steve sometimes putting their arms around each other where they were standing in the middle. Billy could feel himself sweating, and he was glad that he had chosen a thin white shirt tonight and had already stripped out of the leather jacket that he had been wearing over the top, but he really didn't care. He sung loudly to the songs he knew, and even then, he didn't know all the words, but he didn't care about that either, doing a shimmy thing with his hips that made Steve double forward with laughter and hold onto the railing in front of them.

It was just _easy_.

_All of it._

_Touch_ was their final song of the evening, which just so happened to be Steve's most favourite song by them, closely followed by _Power_, and he was throwing his arms in the air and singing out every word that Robin was giggling and videoing him. Steve didn't care—leaning in toward the camera and exaggeratedly mouthing the words—and Billy couldn't stop laughing as _he_ made the first move and threw an arm around Steve's shoulders, singing what words he knew. Robin was still filming and people could see them, if they were looking, but Billy _didn't care_ and he couldn't stop _smiling_.

Getting out of the stadium parking was a bit of a nightmare, which Billy hadn't really experienced before, because they were usually parked in a spot that got them directly out of there, but now they had to join the queues, but it didn't really matter, because all four of them were riding a high and Robin had control over the radio and she was putting on some good music. It had already been established that Robin was getting dropped off at Jules' place for the night—news that was completely unsurprising, given the way the two had been acting all evening—but Billy wasn't sure what was happening after that. He didn't know if Steve was going to just drop him off at his place and leave, or if he was going to come over to his place, or if he was going to go back to _Steve's_ place and the closer that they got to Jules' apartment, which Steve seemed to know the way to but Jules kept shouting out the instructions to, the quieter Billy got.

"Well, thank you for a _marvelous_ evening!" Jules announced as they pulled up outside a nice looking apartment building and the girls started moving around in the backseat, gathering their things. "You were all brilliant, although not as brilliant as my girl here." There was a giggle from the behind Billy and he looked over at Steve, who was rolling his eyes with a grin on his face. Jules suddenly appeared between the seats, kissing them both loudly on the cheek, undoubtedly smearing what was left of her lipstick on their faces, and then got out of the car, quickly followed by Robin, who stood on Steve's side of the car, and he rolled his window down. Billy looked over his shoulder to make sure that they had managed to get all of their things together and when he settled back into his seat, he realized that Robin was saying something quietly to Steve, with a smirk on her face.

"Night, Billy!" Robin called, suddenly pushing off the side of the G-Wagon, and waving.

"See you," he waved back at the two girls, who linked their hands together and backed away from the wagon, heading toward the building. Steve didn't pull away from the curb until they were safely inside the building and the door was shut, and then he wound up his window and accelerated away.

Tension filled the car.

Steve had turned the music down when they had slowed down in Jules' neighbourhood, and now it was simply background noise, and Billy was aware of every small sound in the car.

It sounded as though his breathing was _incredibly_ loud in his own ears.

They were pulling up into Billy's driveway before he even realized it, and then sliding up, parking just outside of Billy's house, the engine idling.

"Stay?" Billy blurted out and Steve glanced over at him, looking at him for a moment before nodding and turning off the car. He didn't move, though, and Billy wondered if Steve didn't _want_ to stay, if he wanted to go home—he _had_ just stayed over the night before, so maybe two nights in a row was pushing it a bit—

"Stop doing that," Steve said quietly, reaching out and cupping Billy's face with one hand and Billy felt his eyes droop.

"Hm?" Billy hummed out.

"Stop doubting yourself. Me. This. Us," Steve replied softly and Billy had no idea how Steve did that, but he just never wanted it to stop. He let his eyes close completely and tipped his head into Steve's hand, pressing his cheek against Steve's open palm, and he felt Steve rub his thumb gently over his cheekbone. It felt as though they were in a bubble, the tension now gone, and he let out a contented breath through his nose. "We're solid, okay? Whatever we are, whatever you want, we're solid." Billy nodded a few times, liking that, liking that Steve was giving him that control, not pressuring him for anything. "You want to go inside? Go to bed?" Billy nodded again, still not able to find it in himself to talk and break the moment. When Steve spoke, it was soothing, but when he spoke, he was worried he was going to say something stupid.

They got out of the car, Steve locking it up and then meeting Billy around the front of the car, their hands coming together again and walking up the steps together. Billy unlocked the door with just one hand, not wanting to pull away from Steve, and he didn't turn on any of the lights as they walked through the foyer and the lounge and toward the hall that lead down to the bedroom. Steve didn't pause outside the room he usually slept in, like he had the night before, they just both moved straight to Billy's room. Steve let go of Billy's hand first, closing the door behind him, and he flicked on the lights—not the main ones overhead, but the small ones on a bar just above Billy's headboard, so that they weren't too over powering—and then he looked over at Billy.

"You alright?" He asked, his voice low and Billy still couldn't find his voice, so he just nodded. Steve nodded back and leaned down to unlace the shoes he was wearing, toeing them off and nudging them out of the way of the door, and then gripping the back of his sweatshirt and pulling it over his head, the tee-shirt he was wearing underneath coming with it, so that he was left topless in front of Billy, who suddenly felt very dry mouthed.

He still wasn't sure what was happening here, but the less clothes that were between them, the better, so he shrugged out of his leather jacket and then pulled off his shirt, which smelt a little bit sweaty from all the jumping and dancing at the concert. Then he looked up to make sure he and Steve were on the same page, and Steve was taking off the tight jeans that he was wearing, so Billy did that as well, until both of them were stripped down to their briefs, Steve in a grey pair of Hugo Boss and Billy in a black pair of Calvin Kleins. Billy's stomach was churning, wondering what was happening next, eyes dancing over Steve's body and his cock twitching in his underwear.

"You ready to sleep?" Steve asked, reaching out for the light switch and Billy blinked.

"W-what?" He finally spoke and Steve's hand paused just above the switch, looking back at him. No one said anything for a few moments, and Steve arched an eyebrow, as though prompting Billy, and it made Billy's cheeks reddened. "I thought...I thought that we—" he broke off, and it was ridiculous how nervous he felt.

This was _Steve_.

He'd felt nervous in these kinds of situations before, plenty of times, but most of that had come from either inexperience and mostly from anxiety of being caught.

When Billy looked back up and focused on Steve, he noticed that Steve had taken a step closer to him, no longer reaching out for the light switch, and his head was tilting to the side, tongue running along his bottom lip. Billy couldn't stop himself from following the motion before meeting Steve's eyes.

"What do you want, Billy?" Steve asked softly—and that wasn't _fair_, because there were so many things that Billy wanted—so many things that Billy wanted with _Steve_.

"I want..." Billy drifted off, swallowing, which was hard given how dry his mouth was all of a sudden. "I want to suck you off," it came out on a heavy exhale, and he almost winced away from the words because he hadn't been sure what was going to come out, but when he looked up at Steve, he was still watching him with those careful, knowing eyes.

"Okay," Steve nodded, voice still soft, and then he stepped forward again, until he was right in front of Billy, and he lifted his hands to cup Billy's face, thumbs pressed to his cheeks, and he gently kissed Billy's mouth. It was soft and definitely not what Billy expected after just admitting that he wanted to wrap his lips around Steve's cock, but he felt his body go pliant and relax under Steve's touch. Steve began stroking his thumbs over Billy's cheeks, in gentle movements and then his lips parted against Billy's, not trying to force Billy to follow his movements but as usual, Billy was more than happy to let him lead.

When his lips opened, Steve licked at them with the tip of his tongue.

It wasn't _a lot_, Billy had kissed people—including _girls_—a lot heavier than this, but not with this _intensity_.

Steve's tongue retreated before his lips opened wider, and one of his hands dropped a little, tips of his fingers still touching Billy's cheeks, and then his jawline, and then his thumb brushing against the corner of his lips before it dropped lower. His nose nudged against Billy's and Billy let out a shuddering breath, his cock almost completely hard in his briefs just from the simple kisses, and as he felt Steve's hand rest against the side of his neck, a shiver ran through him. Steve had touched his neck a lot before, usually cupping the back, underneath his hair, when he was trying to calm him down, get him to take a few deep breaths, and Billy had always _loved it_, it had always been something that made him feel grounded and connected. Now, as Steve's fingers began to stretch around to the nape of his neck while the heel of his palm gently pressed into his throat, Billy could feel his eyelids flickering as his eyes rolled back.

He would never trust anyone else to touch him this way, he would never let him be this vulnerable as he arched his body into Steve's, and it felt _good_ to be giving that over.

It felt as though every nerve ending in his body was set on fire.

Steve pulled back slightly, just enough for Billy to be able to draw in breath through his mouth but not enough that he couldn't still feel Steve's lips as he spoke, shaping the words against Billy's mouth.

"On your knees for me, baby," Steve whispered, and Billy's cock _throbbed_ at that.

_Baby_.

Part of him had wondered if he had been dreaming this morning, when he had heard Steve call him baby, but here he was, saying it again.

Billy dropped so hard that there was a jarring sensation in his knees and up his thighs, but it was easy to ignore. He looked up at Steve, who rested a hand on the side of his head, threading his fingers through his hair and scratching lightly, before the other hand went to the elastic band of his briefs, tugging lightly until his cock sprung forward, curving up toward his stomach, and Billy's mouth suddenly didn't feel so dry anymore. He wanted to lean forward and take Steve into his mouth, but for some reason, he waited, looking up at Steve from underneath his eyelashes, lips parted.

"You're so pretty, Billy," Steve whispered, the words taking Billy by surprise, making his eyes widen before they drooped almost completely closed and a shudder ran through him. Steve's fingers in his hair tightened for a moment, and when Billy managed to open his eyes again, Steve was biting down hard on his bottom lip and his eyes were dark and flashing in the dim light of the room, looking almost as affected by this as Billy was.

"Can I...?" Billy lifted an arm, the limb feeling surprisingly heavy as he reached out and rested his hand on Steve's thigh, fingertips just under Steve's briefs and Steve nodded once. Billy used both hands, tugging at the briefs a little clumsily until Steve was left completely naked in front of him.

Steve didn't work out as rigorously as Billy did, he didn't show off his body on stage and in photoshoots on a regular basis, so he didn't have as many muscles as Billy did, but he was still in good shape. He was more lithe than muscled, but still strong, and Billy could see the veins in his arms were pronounced as his fingers continued to stroke through the blondes curls. His thick hair was falling around his face, no longer brushed back and styled like it was through the day and before the concert, and his lips were shiny, the upper lip a perfect cupids bow. He was saying that _Billy_ was pretty, but Steve was absolutely beautiful.

Billy lifted himself slightly on his knees, still looking up at Steve from under his eyelashes, parting his lips as he tentatively licked at the shiny head of Steve's cock. It tasted salty, like pre-come, but nothing bad, and when he heard a sharp intake of breath from Steve, he did it again. And again.

Steve was gentle was he massaged his fingers through Billy's hair, letting him take his time, which was good, because this really wasn't something that Billy was experienced in. He had done it before, but even with the males that he had had flings with over the years, he was usually on the receiving end of oral, not giving it as often. Billy closed his lips around the head of Steve's, saliva now pooling in his mouth as he sucked gently at the spongy tissue, flicking his tongue under the head.

"That's it, Billy," Steve murmured, fingers curling into Billy's hair, not pulling or pushing, just holding. "Just take your time." Billy took in a shaky breath through his nose, eyes fluttering shut again as he let his head slide forward a little more, lips stretching around Steve's cock. He didn't move fast, he didn't push himself because he knew for a fact that he still had a _very_ real gag reflex, but there were absolutely no complaints from Steve, his fingers tightening in Billy's hair and his breathing becoming more laboured.

Billy braced his hands on both of Steve's thighs, fingers curling inward, and began to move back and forth, pulling off until he was suckling on the head of Steve's cock, and then sliding down a little further each time, even though there was still at least half of Steve's cock that he couldn't take into his mouth.

When Billy felt Steve's hand—not the one in his hair, because that one was still there, thankfully—came up and touched his face, his cock pulsed in his briefs. The next time he took Steve into his mouth, just over halfway this time, the head pressing against his cheek, he felt Steve's finger trace the bulge in his cheek, and it made Billy's eyes roll back into his head.

Steve's hips seemed to jerk forward on their own volition and Billy made a choking noise, eyes snapping back open as he felt pre-come soaking through the front of his briefs.

"Shit—sorry," Steve's voice sounded hoarse and that made Billy even impossibly harder, knowing that _he_ was the reason for that. Steve was always so put together, not uptight but definitely in control of his actions, and hearing him sound fucked out and the fact that his body had acted in a way that he hadn't expected it to made Billy feel all kinds of _powerful_. And even though Steve's cock thrusting itself down his throat had been unexpected, it hadn't been unwelcome.

Billy slid down, back onto his haunches, hands still resting lightly on Steve's thighs and he stared up at Steve.

Steve stared back, the tension in the room so thick it was stifling.

Slowly, Steve moved his hips forward, not forcing Billy to take in more than he had before, but the fact that Steve was holding his head in place, one hand in his hair and the other on his cheek, cupping his jaw, while he slowly pressed his hips forward, inching himself deeper into Billy's mouth, sort of like he was _making Billy take it_ made Billy whimper deep in his throat, even though Billy knew Steve would never force him to do anything.

Steve hesitated before doing it a second time, and a third, and each time he went a bit deeper, the head of his cock sliding across Billy's tongue and further toward the back, until Billy could feel it beginning to nudge the back of his throat. He was trying to relax his throat, so that he could take more into his throat, and he could feel spit beginning to gather in the corners of his mouth. Steve wasn't moving fast, but he was steady, and Billy wasn't even trying to keep his eyes open anymore, was just letting the sensations and the musky smell of Steve's arousal take over his senses as Steve held him in place and fed him his cock. The skin of his shoulders felt tight over his bones and his fingertips and toes were tingling, but he wasn't even processing how close he was to his own orgasm as Steve continued to hold him gently in place.

"I'm close, Billy," Steve murmured roughly, and Billy blinked hazily a few times, trying to look up at Steve and communicate without words that it was okay, he _wanted_ Steve to come, in his mouth, over his tongue, down his throat. But then Steve's hand was gripping his hair a bit firmer and he was pulling at Billy for the first time, so that his mouth was left empty, and he couldn't stop the whimper he let out. Steve's lips twitched as the hand not in Billy's hair moved to wrap around his cock, which was slick and wet from Billy's spit, and he pumped his hand a few times. Billy tugged against Steve's hold, lips parted, wanting to take Steve back into his mouth, but Steve held him in place, so that he was just out of reach. "Can I—on your face?" He sounded breathless.

"_Steve_," Billy whined, his voice sounded completely wrecked, nodding his head a few times, and apparently that was all it took, because then Steve was letting go, come spurting from his cock and striping over Billy's face. He closed his eyes instinctively, even though he wanted to keep them open to watch the pleasure that was playing out over Steve's face, and he felt come across his cheek and nose and lips and then drip down his jaw. His brain felt as though it was shorting out and he breathed in heavily through his nose and then out through his lips, and the next thing he knew, Steve's lips were on his, not seeming to care that Billy had just been sucking on his cock _and_ that Steve's come currently being smeared between their mouths.

It was dirty and there were obscene, slick sounds, and Billy's body was jerking at how tense and aroused he was, and then he felt pressure against his cock, over the top of his briefs, and it took _seconds_ before he was coming inside his underwear.

He let out a guttural moan as his body tensed, and Steve's lips left his pressing against his cheek and his temple, and then Steve's hand was cupping the back of his head and encouraging him to lean forward against his shoulder. Billy just slumped forward, letting Steve guide him, look after him, care for him, not caring about the mess that they had created.

They stayed on the ground for a while, even though it wasn't particularly comfortable, but Steve didn't care and he kept his arms wrapped around Billy, so Billy didn't care either. After a while, Steve helped Billy to his feet, putting him on the edge of the bed and kissing the crown of his head a few times before disappearing from the room for a few moments. He was back quickly, with a damp, warm cloth in his hand, and he started cleaning Billy up gently. He put two fingers under Billy's chin and tilted his head up, and Billy went with it easily, eyes half closed, as he wiped up the drying come that was spread across Billy's face and neck. He wiped Billy's chest lightly as well, maybe just to help with the sweat that had spread, and then he held out a hand to help Billy back to his feet. He silently tugged off Billy's briefs and then let him sit back down to wipe around his groin.

It wasn't erotic, having Steve's hands finally on his cock and balls, but it wasn't demeaning either, given he was cleaning him up, it was just...Nice.

Being looked after.

Steve didn't leave again, he just dropped the cloth on the ground, next to their discarded briefs, helped Billy under the covers and then turned off the lights before getting into the bed with Billy. He didn't hesitate before pressing himself up against Billy's side, and Billy was glad, because he just really, really wanted to be close to Steve right now.

He fell asleep almost instantly, not paying any attention to the buzzing of his phone somewhere in his jeans.

**Author's Note:**

> Alright! If you made it through to the end, please, please, please leave a comment, they are like literal air for me.
> 
> Songs used/mentioned in this installment;
> 
> Power - Little Mix  
THAT Bitch - Bea Miller  
Sweet but Psycho - Ava Max  
Freaking Me Out - Ava Max  
Wasabi - Little Mix  
Secret Long Song - Little Mix  
Touch - Little Mix
> 
> I'd had Little Mix planned as their concert for a while. I saw them live a few years ago and they were amazing, and I was meant to be seeing them next month, but I'm in one of the countries that they cancelled on sort of last minute, so, maybe a little sore about that. Haha. I know Ava Max didn't open for them, but I just love her, so I wanted to but her in there, coz that's the whole fun part about fanfiction, right? If you want to talk, got anything you think you'd like to see, anything, feel free to hit me up on my socials!
> 
> Tumblr: SereneCalamity  
Twitter: CalamitySerene


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